It's time to move past 'the Mormon moment,' LDS official says

By Joseph Walker , Deseret News

Published: Sunday, Aug. 2 2015 2:41 p.m. MDT

Michael Otterson, of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. (Ravell Call, Deseret News)

Suggesting that references to "the Mormon moment" trivialize the lives of millions of church members and the 182-year history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, LDS Public Affairs Director Michael Otterson used his regular Washington Post "On Faith" blog to invite journalists to "get to know us, properly."

"Drop into our services," Otterson wrote. "Talk to our people, have dinner with a local leader, spend a family home evening with a family join with us on a service project. And then, when you have scratched the surface in this way watch those who transition from attitudes of hopelessness to lives of purpose and meaning and learn new ways to follow Jesus Christ."

Few journalists have explored these real-life aspects of LDS living, Otterson said. "The 'Mormon moment' has simply become the cliché of choice, and it's time to move past it. It's more than a Mormon moment," he observed. "It's time for a new paradigm."